Fallout Equestria: Renegades
by Ruin Queen of Oblivion
Summary: Nova is a young Initiate for the Steel Rangers in Seaddle, but after being exposed to the truth about the Rangers, she goes renegade. What fate will befall this young mare? Will she be able to mold the Steel Rangers into the order they need to be?
1. New Blood

_Yes, I know I have two other Fallout: Equestria fanfics going on right now, but this is one that I came up with while playing Fallout 4, in particular the missions with the Brotherhood of Steel._

 _This fanfic is set a year after the events of the original fanfiction by KKat._

 _Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to My Little Pony or Fallout._

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 **PROLOGUE:**

 **RANGERS**

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 _A lot of Ponies talk about the Steel Rangers without really knowing about them._

 _They talk about how they will do anything to get their hooves on technology, how they kill Ponies indiscriminately, how they don't care for the lives of Ponies._

 _I'm here to tell you that they're wrong, well, mostly wrong. While its true of most members of the Steel Rangers, its not true of all of them. I should know, I used to be a Steel Ranger myself, still am really, I just with a new name and paint job for my armor._

 _I admit, most of my compatriots did some unsavory things, things that I'm not proud of, but if it wasn't for one Ranger, then I wouldn't be here today._

 _I'm not going to say this makes up for everything the Rangers have done, but we're changing as an organization. The wasteland has changed, thanks in no small part to ponies like the Lightbringer or the Jewel of the Wasteland._

 _But in order to survive these changes, we had to change too, it wasn't an easy change, and some Steel Rangers resisted it. Even today there are still pockets of the old Steel Rangers out there, not as powerful as they once where, but they're out there._

 _My name is Star Paladin Nova, and this is my story._

 **00000**

Stable 9, on the outskirts of Seaddle.

The Stable was constructed to be a repository of knowledge and the arts, a Stable where history and knowledge was preserved. At least that was what it used to be, today it was a warzone.

The Steel Rangers had figured out how to get into the Stable, lead by Star Paladin Mandrake, they set upon the Stable like a swarm of ravenous insects. The inhabitants only put up a token resistance as the metal monstrocities stripped their Stable bare.

"Knights Rusty and Rose, search these quarters," a Ranger ordered as the two younger Rangers split up and began searching the quarters one by one.

Knight Rose was smaller than your average Steel Ranger, but even so her armor gave her an intimidating appearance. She searched the quarters, there where two Unicorn Ponies lying dead on the floor, blood pooling around them from bullet wounds.

"Such senselessness..." Rose muttered under her breath, why had these ponies fought so hard? Something in this room had to be important enough to fight for, even at the cost of your own life.

She started looking around, there was what she had expected, foot strewn here and there, paintings, books, what she had seen elsewhere in the Stable. There wasn't exactly anything worth dying from in here.

She checked her EFS, there was, something on her EFS, it was a mark for a friendly alright. For a moment she thought that it was one of her allies, but it was too close to be that.

"Okay, that's strange..." she muttered as she started looking around more. Finally she pressed a button, which opened a secret panel, she was surprised at what she found inside.

Inside, wrapped in a blanket in a small basket was a Unicorn filly. She was asleep, but opened her eyes when Rose tried to check on her and began crying.

"Shh, calm down, I'm a Pony, just like you," Rose said as she removed her helmet, revealing a maroon furred Earth Pony. "Come on, stop crying, please?"

The Filly stopped crying and looked up at her perplexed, not sure what to make of this new Pony. Rose looked at the child sadly, the Star Paladin would never let her keep the child, would he?

She replaced her helmet and gently placed the basket on her back, making sure it was secure before heading out. She met up with the other Steel Rangers at the entrance to the Stable, Star Paladin Mandrake was checking everything they had found.

"Slim pickings," he grunted. "It will have to do for now, what about you, Knight Rose, did you find anything of value?"

"Nothing sir, I found a filly in one of the quarters, but that's it, her parents where killed," Rose reported honestly, she tried not to flinch from the look she was likely getting from her CO behind his helmet. "Sir, she's too young to remember what happened here, we could always use more children for the Steel Rangers."

"I will discuss it with the Elder when we return to the base," Mandrake said with a growl. "Until then, she is your responsibility, Knight Rose."

"Yes sir," Rose said, she took one more look at the sleeping filly and nodded. After that, the Steel Rangers filed out of Stable 9, leaving the inhabitants inside to their fates.

 **00000**

Fort Hayford was an old pre-war military base that had been converted into the Steel Rangers' main base of operations in Seaddle. Rose was pacing back and forth in her quarters as she awaited an answer from the Elder.

She sighed as she checked the filly again, she had been pregnant once, but the child was stillborn. "Complications from radiation," the doctor had said, it had left her devastated, was this maybe an attempt to fill that void in her life?

"Its okay little one, you'll be okay," Rose said reassuringly to the filly who just looked up at her cutely. "Don't look at me like that..."

"Knight Rose?" A deep voice asked, causing the pony to jump, she turned to see another Steel Ranger, but she recognized that he wasn't the Elder. He was another Star Paladin, Steelhooves, one of the most respected members of the Steel Rangers.

"Star Paladin Steelhooves, I didn't know you where on the base..." Rose said as she bowed respectfully.

"I was nearby, the Elder wanted my opinion on your, issue," Steelhooves said. "You had a child before, did you not?"

"Stillborn," Rose replied as she looked at her hooves.

"I am sorry," Steelhooves said, even though his voice was cold, she could tell he meant it. "The foal, you are the one who found her?"

"Her parents where killed in the raid," Rose said regretfully. "She has nopony left."

Steelhooves looked thoughtful before nodding. "I am going to recommend that you are to keep the child, if you raise her right."

Rose perked up at that, she was surprised at the Star Paladin's generosity. "Thank you."

"Do not abuse this trust, Knight Rose," Steelhooves said as he departed as quietly as he arrived.

Rose trotted over to the basket and carefully took the foal into her forelegs as she smiled down at the child. "Don't worry, I'm going to take good care of you, Nova."

 **00000**

 _I don't even remember that day... all I know is what Rose... mom told me later once I was old enough to know the truth._

 _I was raised as a Steel Ranger, it was my destiny to become one of them. Or so I thought, maybe I should've questioned it more, tried to understand the history of our group better._

 _Maybe if I had, things would've been different, but by the time I learned the truth, things had changed. There was a new war, a fracture between the Steel Rangers formed, and I was caught up in it._

 _After all, every war has its renegades._

 _And war, war never changes._

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 **FALLOUT EQUESTRIA:**

 **RENEGADES**

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 **A FALLOUT EQUESTRIA**

 **FANFIC BY**

 **RUIN QUEEN OF OBLIVION**

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 **CHAPTER 1:**

 **NEW BLOOD**

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 **00000**

I might as well start at the beginning, that's usually a good place to start with these stories right? It all started with the Great Schism, which began 200 years after the great war between Ponies and Zebras.

The Steel Rangers had been around since the war, since Applejack and the Ministry of Wartime Technology first formed the group to help fight the Zebra menace. Since the megaspells fell, we have focused on gathering technology and other artifacts from around the Wasteland.

But that all changed one day when the Star Paladin Steelhooves and others broke off from the Steel Rangers. They're now known as the Applejack's Rangers, having dedicated themselves to not only gathering, but also protecting the Ponies of the Wasteland.

The original Great Schism was quickly overshadowed by a greater enemy, the Grand Pegasus Enclave. The Enclave was defeated, and most of the Steel Rangers around central Equestria where absorbed into Applejack's Rangers.

Near Seaddle though, the Steel Rangers still held dominion, insisting that they would never give in to the heresy of Steelhooves' followers. Eventually, the conflict came to Seaddle with the arrival of the Applejack's Rangers, and the Great Schism continued.

Its now a year since the Day of Sunshine and Rainbows, and a few months since the conflict began. But that wasn't important to me, at least not yet.

 **00000**

Fort Hayford had been the main base of operations for the Steel Rangers in the city of Seaddle since before I was born. I didn't really remember life before the Steel Rangers, my mother Rose had raised me from foalhood here on the base.

Today was an important day for me, a week ago I had received my Cutie Mark, a four-pointed blue star with a gold ring around it. I had earned it after I had used my magic in order to help drive off an attack by Ghoul Ponies.

I guess then it meant that my talent was tied to defense using magic, really that was the best it was ever good for except for telekinesis. I could create barriers mostly to keep myself and other ponies safe, but that was the most I could do.

"Nova?" My mother's voice called out from the doorway, I turned to see her watching me from the door. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," I said with a weak smile, I was nervous because today was also the day that I was to join the Steel Rangers.

"Elder Mandrake asked me to collect you," Rose said. "Are you ready for this?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," I replied. "I've been working towards this my whole life, I should be fine, right?"

"You'll be fine, you'll make a great Steel Ranger," Rose said with a smile. "Besides, you're my daughter, I have faith in you."

I couldn't help but feel a surge of pride, Rose was both my mother and my mentor in the Steel Rangers. She had a lot of faith in me, and I just hoped that I wouldn't fail.

"Lets go," I said, still nervous as we headed out of our quarters.

 **00000**

Fort Hayford had been built up ever since the Steel Rangers had first arrived here before I was even born. I walked down the main parade ground with the other Ponies that where to be initiated into the Steel Rangers today.

Elder Mandrake, the Pony in charge of the Steel Rangers' operations in Seaddle, stood on a stage above us. I glanced over at Rose who was nearby, dressed in her full power armor, she gave me a nod of reassurance.

"Initiates," Mandrake started speaking. "You are all here because you are the best and brightest of the Ponies here. You have proven yourselves time and time again to be worthy of the title of Steel Ranger, and today you will each take your first steps as Initiates in our great and honorable tradition."

He paused, a light murmur went up among the gathered Ponies. Normally that was the end of his speech and we got right to the ceremony, but he paused, like there was something else he wanted to say.

"Seaddle is a battlefield, Initiates," Mandrake finally continued. "And the battle this time is between brothers and sisters. The traitors and heretics that call themselves Applejack's Rangers have come to our city, to our base, trying to turn us against our traditions. We will not stand for this, every Steel Ranger's duty is to fight this heresy until it is stamped out under our hooves!"

There was a roar of approval from the croud of gathered ponies, I couldn't help but join in. Mandrake was one of those ponies that could inspire action in the Steel Rangers.

Applejack's Rangers hadn't been in Seaddle more than a few months, but they had been trying to recruit members of the Steel Rangers. Worse than that, their attacks on Fort Hayford where pretty common, and they just served to rile us more.

"Nova," Mandrake said as I stepped up onto the stage. "Do you swear to uphold the beliefs and traditions of the Steel Rangers, serve faithfully, and follow your commander without heresy or treason?"

"I do," I said without hesitation.

"Then I induct you as an Initiate in the Steel Rangers," he said as a page came up to us with my Initiate's outfit and a PipBuck (every Initiate got one to prepare us for our armor later) as they gave it to me. "Wear it with pride Initiate."

"Yes sir," I said with a crisp salute before returning to my place in the Parade Ground.

I looked at my screen as it calculated my S.P.E.C.I.A.L stats:

STRENGTH: 6  
PERCEPTION: 7  
ENDURANCE: 6  
CHARISMA: 4  
INTELLIGENCE: 5  
AGILITY: 4  
LUCK: 5

The rest of the ceremony went by without a hitch, though it was strange, as I looked over the Ponies that had gathered here. I couldn't help but feel like something was off, everypony who was supposed to be here was here, but still, maybe it was just my imagination.

I was about to dismiss it when a shot rang out, there was a scream as Mandrake seemed to fall. There was a rush towards the stage, but the Elder got to his hooves.

"Seize that Pony!" Someone shouted and pointed a hoof towards a Pony who was trying to make it out. I was the closest so I galloped towards them, my horn glowing blue as I created a barrier around them, trapping the Pony.

"Good work Initiate," a familiar voice said, I looked to see Mandrake standing over me, looking no worse for wear. He nodded to two Rangers who moved forward and grabbed the captured Pony as I lowered the barrier and hauled him off. "You see, the heretics even now try to silence us! If they cannot get us to change to their side, they will kill us all, this is the hypocricy of the so-called Applejack's Rangers! Ponies like this brave Initiate will be the future of the Steel Rangers, and we will stamp out the enemy, no matter what!"

There was another cheer from the crowd, but I wasn't so sure anymore, something about this whole thing still felt off to me.

I just hoped that I could figure out what it was before it was too late.

 **00000**

I was moved to the Mare Initiate's Barracks, they weren't as nice as my old quarters, but they where about what I had expected at least. I put my stuff in the hooflocker at the end of my bed and took a seat on it to gather my thoughts.

Applejack's Rangers had attacked the base before sure, but they had never been this bold before to attack the Elder directly. I checked my PipBuck, it was only 1930, curfew wasn't until 2200 hours, I'd still have time to investigate if I left now.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Elder's new favorite Initiate," a mare's voice said, I looked up to see a grey colored Earth Pony Initiate looking at me with a sneer on her face. "How's it feel to be stuck here with us commoners, horn-head?"

"Look, I don't want any trouble," I said, I had been met with some animosity in the past for being a Unicorn while most initiates that where in line for Knights where Earth Ponies.

"Oh sure, we don't either, isn't that right girls?" The mare said with a smirk, her companions chuckled. "Now listen up, I don't need some green mare getting in my way, so you better watch yourself."

"I'll remember that," I growled as I pushed past them and headed towards the barracks door. I had to focus on getting answers, I didn't have time to think about that stupid mare and whatever issue she had with me.

I just hoped I could find answers.

 **00000**

The first place to look of coruse was the parade ground, it made sense, after all that was where the shooter was right?

I started out by examining the place where I had caught the shooter, it was scuffed up, but there wasn't any clues on first glance. That's when I noticed something interesting, there was a disturbed spot in the ground, like somepony had tried to hastily bury something before escaping.

When I cleared the dirt, I found a spent shell casing, the shooter must not have had time to pick it up when he tried to run. I levitated it up so I could get a closer look at it and frowned.

"Non lethal ammunition..." I muttered, that was strange, why would the shooter use a nonlethal if the intention was to kill the Elder? Something about this was really weird, none of it made sense at all.

I knew what I had to do next, I had to talk to the prisoner directly, that was the best possible plan right now.

I just hoped that I could.

 **00000**

I slipped into the part of the base that served as our brig, levitating a tray of food that I had convinced a page to give me. The two Knights that where standing guard in front of the door to the cells looked intimidating, but I needed to get in.

"Initiate Nova," one of them said to me. "It was Page Pearl's responsibility to take the food to the prisoner."

"I know, but I wanted to see the prisoner," I said, I might as well tell part of the truth. "I mean I did catch him for the Elder and everything."

The two Rangers exchanged glances and shrugged. "Fine, but don't stay long," one of them said and then opened the door.

I couldn't believe that actually worked as I made my way through the brig area and finally stopped at the only inhabited cell.

"Food," I said, the stallion looked up at me, he was an earth pony with a sandy coat and a dark mane and tail.

"Sending the mare who caught me to feed me, who says the Steel Rangers don't have a sense of humor?" He asked in a gruff voice.

"I'm not just here to feed you," I said as I put the tray down. "I don't think you where sent to kill Elder Mandrake at all."

"Funny, that's what usually happens when you send somepony to shoot somepony else, I must've gotten it backwards all these years," the stallion snarked, but ignored the food.

"You used nonlethal ammo," I pointed out, which got him to pause. "Look, I don't have much time, tell me who sent you, who really sent you."

"Can't tell you, I don't know his name," the Stallion said. "But since he got me stuck in this Tartarushole, I'll tell you this..."

I leaned in close, listening to what he had to say. My eyes went wide when I heard it, I looked at him shocked, that wasn't possible, was it?

"Thank you," I said and headed back out quickly, not even acknowledging the two knights or slowing down until I got back outside.

He had been hired by a Steel Ranger.

 **00000**

I went to the only Pony on the base that I could trust, Rose, she'd know what to do right? I hoped to Celestia that she would. It was getting late when I knocked on her door, and she opened it, looking at me worriedly.

"Nova, its getting close to curfew, is everything okay?" She asked.

"I don't know honestly," I admitted. "I need to talk to you, its something big... something that could threaten everypony here."

She paused only briefly at that as she let me in. I told her what I had found out, first the weird feeling I had gotten before, then the nonlethal ammo, and finally what the stallion had told me.

The whole time Rose listened to me carefully, not interrupting, she just let me talk until I had finally finished. I took a deep breath and looked at her, not sure what to expect her to say.

"That is a problem," she finally said. "Did he give a name?"

"No, he didn't," I said. "But if it was one of Applejack's Rangers, why not try and kill the Elder instead of just knocking him out?"

"I honestly don't know," Rose admitted. "Have you told anypony else?"

"No, you're the only one I've told," I said. "What should I do?"

"There's not a whole lot you can do," Rose said with a sigh. "If a Steel Ranger hired him, then we don't know how high it goes. What I suggest is you continue with your duties and keep looking into it, I'll help as best I can but I can't promise anything."

"Thanks mom," I said with a sigh of relief, it wasn't a great answer, but it was at least something. "I should get back to my barracks."

"Yes you should, good night Nova," Rose said with a smile as I headed back outside and towards the barracks.

 **00000**

"Have you heard about the New Canterlot Republic out east?" One of the other initiates said to her friend as I came into the barracks.

"Yeah, that radio Pony was talking about it earlier," the other said. "I'm not sure what to make of it really."

"Heh, I give it half a year before the whole thing collapses," a third said. "They're all a bunch of idealists, surviving in the Wasteland is about strength, not idealism."

I had heard of the New Canterlot Republic before sure, they where a new faction that had risen following the day of Sunshine and Rainbows. They where trying a more democratic style government, which was hard to come by in the Wasteland, and Ponies where starting to take notice.

"Hey you, greenie," one of them called out, it took me a moment to realize they meant me. "What do you think of the NCR?"

"Well I don't know honestly," I admitted as I came up to them. "Everypony tries to live in the wasteland in their own way, right?"

"Eh, they're not going to last," the first Pony said. "Trust me, in this world, ideals only get you so far."

Looking back I have to kind of laugh at that mare's attitude, the NCR was going to last a lot longer than anypony here would've expected. But I didn't know that at the time, so I just had to worry about it later.

I went to bed not long after, it had been quite the day, and I just wanted to rest.

 **00000**

"This is a Raider Stronghold," Paladin Knives said as he briefed us before we prepared to attack the Coltvega plant in Seaddle. "Everypony here is to be considered hostile, this is a simple retrieval mission, but we go in expecting a fight to the death. I want to see the floor stained with Raider blood, show no mercy and expect none in return. Ad Victorum!"

"Ad Victorum!" We all said in unison.

This was my first mission as an initiate, it was only two days after I had been initiated into the Steel Rangers. The Paladins called this a baptisim by fire, as one of the initiates geared towards combat I was expected to help clear the plant of the Raiders.

I was nervous, this was the first time I had actually had to kill a living Pony, I took a long look at Rose who had been assigned to the mission as well. She gave me the slightest of nods to try and reassure me, that was something at least, even though I still couldn't help but feel nervous.

The Coltvega plant was an imposing structure, it almost felt like we where about to assault a fortress. I checked my Eyes Forward Sparkle and I gulped inwardly, there was a lot of red there, but we had to do it.

I levitated out the assault rifle I had been given and waited for the signal, I had to hope that the Paladins and Knights had the right intel on what was waiting for us inside. I could see ponies that where well armed standing on the wall and walkway, they certainly looked like Raiders, I think...

That's when the shooting started, I looked down to see my fellow Steel Rangers advancing on the plant. I moved forward and leveled my assault rifle at the nearest Raider pony and pulled the trigger.

He didn't have time to react as the bullets plowed into his body as blood and brain matter spurted all over the wall behind him. I didn't give it a second thought, I just adjusted my weapon and pointed it at another one and fired, I didn't stop to think about what I was doing, I just acted on instinct. Every instinct, every second of training drilled into my head told me this was the right thing to do.

Then why was my heart telling me that it wasn't the right thing to do? I couldn't listen to it though, I couldn't let up as the bullets flew around me, there was an explosion as the remaining Raiders went flying, only then did it stop.

"Team two, secure the perimeter," Knives said. "Team three, enter the plant from the upper door, team one, the lower door."

I was part of team one along with Rose, we pushed the door open and went inside, not sure what to expect.

 **00000**

"Nova, you check over there, I'll go this way," Rose said, motioning towards a hallway, we hadn't run into any major opposition yet, but I still kept my rifle out just to be safe. "Don't forget to keep an eye on your EFS."

"Yes ma'am," I said, she was my mother but here she was my superior officer.

I moved quietly through the hallway, I wasn't armored since I hadn't earned it yet, so I had to be careful. I checked the EFS, there where several red markers ahead of me, but there was something I hadn't expected at all.

Green markers, there where friendlies ahead, I knew they couldn't be members of the Steel Rangers, they where too far away from the others. I levitated a small mirror attached to the end of a metal stick that I had brought with me just in case and held it so I could see into the next room.

There where 7 ponies, four of them where stallions that where dressed in the tattered leather of raiders, the other three where two frightened looking mares and a filly.

"Keep the runt quiet, or I'll put a bullet in her brain," one of the stallions growled, getting a frightened sequeal out of the poor filly.

"Don't waste your ammo you moron, the Rangers are here and you know what they do to Raiders," another stallion snapped. "When one of those big tin cans gets close enough, we'll use them as meat shields."

Okay, I was starting to feel less sorry about killing those Ponies outside now. Sure I had heard a lot of horror stories about Raiders, but this was the first I had actually heard one talk, and I didn't like it.

"Naw, leave the filly out of the line of fire, we can have some real fun with her later," another voice said.

That sealed it, I was going to take them out right here, right now, but I was outnumbered and probably outgunned. I opened up the saddlebag that I had carried with me and extracted a flash grenade, pulling the pin and tossing it into the room.

"Hey what's..." One of the stallion's voices said as I turned away and there was a flash, I rushed in and entered Stable-Tec Arcane Targeting Spell or S.A.T.S. for short and quickly opened fire on each of the Raiders.

I heard a scream and the sound of somepony running, I think it was the filly, as soon as the flash faded the Raiders laid dead, leaving just the two mares who where looking terrified.

"My name is Nova, I'm here to rescue you," I said.

"Where's Destiny?" One of the mares said, that had to be the filly.

"She'll be okay, come on, I'll get you to safety with my unit, then I'll come back and find her, I promise," I said reassuring her.

"Thank you," the other mare said to me in a soft voice as we made our way back down the hall.

I finally came to a stop and held up a hoof to stop them, Paladin Knives was waiting for me with Rose by his side.

"Sir, I found these Ponies being held captive by the Raiders," I said. "I'm going back in to see if..."

My sentence was suddenly cut off with the sound of gunfire, for a moment I thought there where more Raiders, but then I realized that it was coming from the gatling gun attached to Knives' armor. I watched in horror as the bullets plowed into the two mares before they could even react.

I couldn't believe it, a Steel Ranger Paladin had just gunned down two unarmed civilians.

"All hostiles are to be eliminated," he said in a deadpan voice and walked off, leaving me and Rose alone.

I just hoped that Destiny made it out alive.

 **00000**

"They where unarmed civilians, he didn't have to kill them!" I protested, pacing across the floor in Rose's quarters. "It was cold blooded murder, plain and simple!"

The trip back to Hayford had been uneventful and quiet, I hadn't wanted to talk to anypony about what had happened until I could talk to Rose in private.

"Nova, calm down," Rose said calmly.

"How can you be calm, you saw the same thing I did!" I shouted at her. "What happened to gathering technology to help Equestria? I thought that was the Steel Ranger mandate, there's nothing in there about killing innocent ponies!"

I was furious, I had promised those ponies that they would be safe, they could have been safe, and I had led them into the slaughter. I couldn't help but wonder what that poor filly thought of me right now, she probably knew, and saw me as a monster.

"Nova, snap out of it!" Rose said loudly. "You're not helping anypony by getting angry like this."

I took a deep breath, I knew she was right, parents huh? They always seemed to be smarter than you, I guess that's why they where the parents and not us, maybe I should have listened to her more.

"I'm sorry mom," I said as I looked at my hooves. "I told them they'd be okay... I saved them from the Raiders, I feel responsible."

"Most Steel Rangers believe that technology should be gained no matter what the cost," Rose said with a sigh. "Even the Elders, and they'll kill anypony that could threaten that."

That didn't make sense to me, the idea was to help Equestria right? Why kill ponies then? Did the Steel Rangers everywhere do this, or just in Seaddle?

Not much was making sense to me anymore, I didn't like what I was being told, I was a Steel Ranger, right? So that meant that someday, I'd be expected to do the same, to "keep equestria safe at all costs."

"What should I do?" I asked.

"That's up to you, that's one lesson no teacher can teach you, you have to learn how to react to the wasteland on your own," Rose said sadly. "But you'll need to figure it out soon, the Elder won't be happy about what happened today."

I gulped, I really didn't like the sound of that. I had heard stories about Ponies that had made the Elder unhappy, and none of them ended well.

"I'll be careful," I said with a nod.

"Okay, watch out for yourself out there," Rose said and hugged me gently.

 **00000**

I fell over onto my bed in the barracks and stretched out, I didn't want to talk to anypony right now, I just wanted to sleep. Today was my baptism by fire, and somehow I felt like I had failed it miserably.

 _"Hey everypony out there, this is your good friend Refuge coming at you with the news,"_ the voice of a mare said over a radio nearby, I groaned, the last thing I wanted to hear right now was the voice of that DJ. _"Good news from Manehattan, after a year long hiatus DJ Pon3 is finally back on the air out of Tenpony Tower. The recent activation of the Gardens of Equestria Megaspell has done wonders for the wasteland, and we all would like to welcome Pon3 back."_

"Why do you always listen to her?" I asked the Pony who was seated by the radio. "You know the Elder frowns on it."

"Yeah, well Refuge is at least more entertaining and informative than that old music station you listen to," the mare said. "Besides, would you rather have Enclave radio back?"

"Okay, good point," I admitted, I remembered the short lived takeover of the radio frequencies by the Grand Pegasus Enclave during their invasion of Equestria. "Honestly, mom never really let me listen to the radio other than the classical station."

"Ah, well that explains it, just give her a chance," the mare said, at least she was being nice to me.

I closed my eyes and laid back, listening to the music as it played, there was only one thing left that I could do. I had to go back and talk to the prisoner, he might have answers.

I just had to make sure I did it before he was executed.

 **00000**

"Heh, two visits from a beautiful mare in the same week, Celestia must be smiling down on me," the Prisoner said without looking at me. "What do you want, blue?"

"I want to know more about the Wasteland," I said simply, finally getting him to look at me.

"What, is the Steel Ranger demon looking to dessert?" He asked, looking me over suspiciously. "Never thought I'd see the day."

"No, its not like that at all," I said, I knew that the Elder had listening devices in all the cells, so I had to deny it, but I gave him a very slight nod, hoping he'd catch it.

"Fine, but you're not going to like all I have to tell you," he said. "Give me a cigarette, and we'll talk."

It didn't take long for me to bum a cigarette off of one of the other initiates, they weren't exactly contraband, but it was generally frowned upon if you where under the rank of knight. I levitated it through the bars to him and struck a match lighting it, the Stallion took a long drag on it before talking again.

"Seaddle's never exactly been paradise," he said. "Raider gangs ruled most of the city up until about 5 years ago when some enterprising Ponies built Haven. Then when the Applejack's Rangers moved in, well... you Ponies don't ever do anything small do you?"

He was talking about the schism, the war between the two factions, it had been going on for a few months now and Seaddle wasn't exactly in the best shape.

"Well, they're a bunch of traitors, trying to hurt Equestria for their own selfish goals," I said, this made him laugh.

"Sure, and I'm the second coming of the Lightbringer," he said with a cough. "You're really buying into that whole propaganda crap aren't you? Let me clue you in, the Applejack's Rangers are a splinter group that goes against your precious traditions, that much is true. But from what I've seen of them, they want to help the Wasteland and protect the Ponies in it. I've seen Steel Rangers gun down innocent ponies for just looking at them wrong."

I opened my muzzle to protest, but that's when I realized he was right, I had seen it myself back in the Coltvega plant. I was speechless, I didn't know what to say.

"Can you prove..." I started to say when the door to the detention area was flung open and two Knights came in, flanking Elder Mandrake.

"Step away from the Prisoner, Initiate Nova," he said so forcefully that I actually stepped back. "I would suggest forgetting anything you heard here, or you'll be the next pony to face the firing squad."

I gulped, I had never seen the Elder like this before, he was calm, but there was a fury in his eyes that I didn't like. I had stepped out of bounds here, and I was lucky he wasn't about to have me shot as a traitor.

The knights opened the cell door and pulled out the prisoner, dragging him off. Mandrake took one last look at me with a scowl, and followed, leaving me alone in the detention cell.

I turned to look at the cell one more time, I noticed something odd, there seemed to be something carved into the wooden bedframe. I got down close and examined it, it read, "Icy Wind, 3 Broken Wing Street, Haven."

I made a mental note of it and then galloped out of the detention center.

 **00000**

I found myself in the parade grounds again, but this time it wasn't a celebration, at least not the usual kind. There where several knights standing in a line with the prisoner against the wall.

A page walked between the knights, giving them each a bullet which they loaded into their rifles. There where more Ponies around of course, mostly Initiates like me, a few knights here and there, and one or two Paladins.

"We're here to strike another blow against the heretics and traitors who still even today, plot our destruction," Elder Mandrake said as he stepped onto the stage. "This pony tried to carry out the heinous crime of assassination against your Elder, which we will not stand for. Let his death be a warning to all who would stand in the way of progress, the wasteland belongs to the Steel Rangers! Death to all who will stand in our way!"

A roar came up from the crowd of ponies, but this time I didn't feel like joining in, not that anypony would have noticed if I did.

"Does the accused have any final words?" Mandrake said, looking at his would-be "assassin" one last time.

"You're playing a dangerous game, Elder, and one day, you'll learn just how dangerous it really is," the prisoner spat.

"Defiant to the end," Mandrake said with a roll of his eyes. "Firing line, into position..."

The knights raised their weapons.

"Take aim."

They pointed at the prisoner.

"FIRE!"

I turned away as the sound of gunfire rang out, the stallion didn't scream or cry out, he just, died in silence.

It was then that I made my choice, the only choice I could make now.

 **00000**

It was late that night, nearing 0000 when I finally was ready, I knew there was a shift change coming up and that was when the security at the base was at its most lax. I spent most of the day messing with my PipBuck, I managed to get the tracking device disengaged so they wouldn't be able to follow me.

I checked my bag one more time, food, medicine, extra ammunition for my assault rifle that I had snuck out of the armory and was now strapped to my back. I was ready, nopony was going to stop me now.

As I walked out quietly, I went past the barracks I had shared with Rose, taking one last long look at it. Rose was my mother, but she was a Steel Ranger before anything else, she wouldn't understand why I had to do this.

I was almost to the wall when I heard a voice that nearly made me jump out of my fur. "A bit late for a stroll isn't it?"

I turned to see Rose standing there, she wasn't wearing her helmet, but that armor was still intimidating.

"Sorry mom, I, can't stay here anymore," I said. "I tried to be the best Steel Ranger I could be, but, I can't do this. I can't kill innocent Ponies, I can't sit back and watch while they do it either... please, don't tell anypony you saw me leave."

Rose's eyes went soft. "I won't tell anypony," she said, I let out a sigh of relief, that was a good sign, maybe I'd get out of this alive after all, then what she said next threw me for a loop. "Because I'm going with you."

"I can't ask you to do that," I said, trying to keep my voice low. "Your whole life is the Steel Rangers."

"Do you really think you're the only Pony who thinks that way?" Rose asked, wait, she agreed with me? "Besides, you're my daughter, I'm not going to let you run off on your own."

"Okay, but we need to get going, the shift change is almost over," I said as we headed for the wall.

"Are you up for this?" Rose asked me, and I nodded and concentrated, enveloping us in the blue magical energy.

I had to make this quick, but I still had to be careful, it wasn't easy levitating power armor, but I got us over the wall. From there we started down the hill, away from Fort Hayford.

And if my map was anything to go by, into the unknown.

 **LEVEL UP!**

 **Perk Received: Steel Ranger Outcast**

 **Details: You've taken the first step towards your destiny in leaving the Steel Rangers. Add one extra point to the stat of your choice.**

 **00000**

 _ **Finally done with chapter 1, took me long enough, I've been working on this one for awhile.**_

 _ **Next chapter, Nova and Rose start into the ruins of Seaddle, where Nova comes across a familiar face on their way to Haven. What will this mean for their future? Find out next time in, "Mistakes."**_


	2. Mistakes

_Well, here's hoping this chapter finds all of you well, at least better than its going to find our heroes._

 _Well, moving on._

 _Disclaimer: I don't own anything I didn't create for this fanfic._

 **00000**

 **0000000000**

 **CHAPTER 2:**

 **MISTAKES**

 **0000000000**

 **00000**

The Seaddle Ruins, I had lived in the remains of this city for my entire life, but I never really realized how big they where. We had holed up in the ruins of an old building once we where far enough away from Fort Hayford.

"How long do you think it'll take them until they realize we're gone?" I asked.

"Until morning at least," Rose said. "Do you have a plan for where to go next?"

"Haven," I said simply. "The prisoner, he carved an address in Haven onto his bed, it was important to him somehow, so its worth checking out.

"I see, well we'll have to head north then," Rose said. "I've never been there myself, but I've heard stories that Haven is a safe enough location."

Haven, I had only ever heard rumors about the place, a city within the ruins of Seaddle that Ponies lived in. It had been established by Ponies that wanted to protect themselves and others from the encroaching Raiders, and for the most part the Steel Rangers left the settlement alone if nothing else for a place to trade with.

"Why Haven anyway?" Rose asked.

"There was a message carved into the bed in the cell," I said, I had burned the words into my mind. "I think it might've been important to him... a wife maybe, I want to go at least tell her what happened..."

"Okay Nova, we'll check it out," Rose said with a reassuring smile. "We'll have to go as far as we can tonight. Mandrake is going to be hunting us."

"I'm really sorry for putting you in this position mom," I said. "The Rangers where your life."

"You're my life Nova," Rose said with a smile. "Don't worry about it, I'll be fine."

I smiled a little at that, Rose was both my mother and my mentor so it was good to have a chance to work with her. Honestly I was glad that she had come with me, having my mom to back me up was great.

As we kept walking I checked my PipBuck again, we where getting close to the Coltvega plant where I had lead those poor mares to their deaths. I froze up a little when I realized where we were, and honestly I wasn't sure what to do.

"Nova, are you okay?" Rose asked, then realized where we were. "Oh... we're here..."

"Yeah, I know," I said nervously as I remembered that poor filly that had run off. "I know its late but..."

"You want to go see if that filly is alive?" Rose asked, I had told her what had happened earlier and nodded. "Okay Nova, lets go."

I nodded, even though it was going to be hard to get away from the Steel Rangers if we did this but honestly I still felt guilty about the filly. I had caused the death of her family and I knew that was going to haunt me unless I did something to help her.

As we trotted towards the plant, I hoped that it wasn't already too late.

 **00000**

I checked my EFS as we looked around, unlike the last time I was here it was completely empty, ot at least it seemed like that. If there where any surviving Raiders they must not have wanted to return to the plant after the Steel Rangers took it out.

"Its quiet, too quiet," I said nervously, it was unsettling especially because it had been so active last time I had been here. "Any idea where she might be?"

"Not sure," Rose said, checking the area around us as we entered the room I had last seen her in. "I'm not getting anything on the EFS either, and there's too many tracks around here to find her."

I bent down and checked the floor, she was right, there where too many hoofprints around to be able to tell where she had gone. What was strange though was that there where hoofprints that where heading in the direction she had gone, it was more like she had been followed.

"This way," I said and started into the hallway, but I paused a moment when I heard the sound of growls echoing down the hallway. "It sounds like we have Ghouls down there."

Rose nodded as I levitated my rifle out of my bag, we where coming up on a group of Ghouls that must've moved in. I just hoped that the filly was going to be okay.

"Come on, lets go," I said, moving in the direction of the growls, my nose wrinkling as the smell of rotting flesh hit my nose and the first Ghoul came into view.

I pulled the trigger without thinking, sending a bullet into the Ghoul's brain, I quickly realized my mistake though when more Ghouls came into view around the corner.

"Not one of our better ideas..." Rose groaned as she fired her guns into the incoming group of ghouls. "They must have moved in after the Raiders where kicked out."

"Figures," I said as I shot more ghouls as they go down quickly, one by one the red marks on my EFS vanished before they went down. "That was terrifying..."

"Come on, lets get going," Rose said as we moved down the hallway a little more quickly, if the filly was still here then she had probably heard that.

 **00000**

We reached the basement of the Coltvega plant without finding any real sign of the filly we had come for. That's when I heard a whimpering sound coming from one of the adjoining rooms, my EFS blinked yellow.

"Mom, I think you should hang back," I said, I was afraid that the filly had seen ponies in Steel Ranger armor and if she saw Rose then she'd be scared off.

"I understand, I'll keep an eye on your six," Rose said with a nod as I cautiously opened the door with telekinesis and looked inside.

Curled up against the wall was a the filly, with the light I could make out her features. She was an Earth Pony with light pink fur and a darker pink mane, she sniffed as I moved inside.

"What do you want?" She asked, not looking at me.

"Your name is Destiny, right?" I asked, trying to sound as gentle as I could.

"How did you know that?" The Filly asked nervously. "Did you know my mom and aunt?"

I wasn't sure how to answer that to be honest, I could tell her the truth but that would be difficult to tell her.

"I, knew them briefly," I said. "I'm sorry about what happened to them, I was there when they died..."

"The Steel Rangers killed them, where you with them?" Destiny asked, I froze at that question, I wasn't sure how to answer that.

"I was there," I said, that didn't help at all, she probably realized that meant I was with the Rangers. "I wasn't the one who pulled the trigger..."

Destiny just cried more at that news, my heart felt like it was breaking, I had caused this filly to lose her family and there was nothing I could do about it.

"What are you going to do with me? Are you going to take me to the Steel Rangers too?" Destiny asked, that made me flinch.

"No I'm not," I said. "Me and my mother we left the Steel Rangers behind, we're just trying to survive out here now."

She finally turned to look at me with her blue eyes. "Why should I believe you? You where one of them..."

"I know, and I regret it," I said as I tried not to scare the filly. "I should've done something to stop it, right now all I can do is offer to help you get somewhere safe. We're going to Haven, if you want to join us at least until then."

"Okay, as long as you don't hurt me..." Destiny said, she was still scared, but she at least seemed to be feeling better.

"I promise, we won't hurt you," I said, offering a hoof to the filly, this time I was going to make sure I kept that promise as I lead her out of the room and into the main basement.

"Is she okay?" Rose asked as she turned to look at us, Destiny recoiled at the sight of Rose's power armor.

"Calm down Destiny, she's my mother, she's not going to hurt you," I said as I tried to reassure the filly. "Mom, maybe you should show her your face."

Rose nodded and detached her helmet, giving the filly a reassuring smile. Destiny moved forward cautiously and looked at her.

"See, she's just a Pony like us," I said with a smile. "Come on, lets get going."

Rose and Destiny nodded and we made our way out of the Coltvega plant and started heading on the way to Haven again.

 **00000**

The sun rose over the city of Seaddle as we reached the outer perimeter that had been built up around Haven. I looked around strangely, while there was a watchtower, there wasn't anypony standing guard.

"Something's wrong here," Rose said.

"Where is everypony?" Destiny asked as she looked around confused.

"I don't know, and I don't like it," I said as we trotted forward, I kept a telekinetic grip on my rifle as we kept going. "I thought Haven was often a target of Raiders, why would they abandon the outer perimiter?"

"I'm sure we'll find out," Rose said as we kept walking.

When we got closer we started to get an idea of exactly what had happened, there where ponies dressed in raider armor as well as ponies in other armor with bullet casings strewn everywhere.

"Raiders... they must've overwhelmed the outer defenses..." Nova said as we looked ahead of us towards the walled community of Haven.

"Lets go," Rose said and we moved forward, making sure that Destiny stayed close behind us.

"It'll be okay, I hope," I said reassuringly as we approached the second line of defense, we could see the the signs of battle and hear the sounds of gunfire.

Haven was still under attack.

 **00000**

"Stay behind us," I said to the filly as I checked my EFS, there where a lot of raiders, but the defenders of Haven where fighting back as hard as they could.

"Okay Nova," Destiny said, it was clear she was nervous. "Are we going to be okay?"

"We'll be fine," I said and Rose nodded in agreement as we moved into cover and set up our weapons and aimed for the Raiders.

"On three?" Rose asked and I nodded. "One..."

I leveled my rifle as I aimed for the nearest Raider.

"Two..."

I took the trigger into my telekinetic grip, glancing at Rose who was in position.

"Three!" Rose said and I pulled the trigger, putting a bullet into the head of a Raider and it exploded in a splatter of blood and brains and another one exploded from a burst of minigun fire from Rose's weapons.

The Raiders' attention had been drawn away from the defenders of Haven by the sudden and rather grisly death of their comrades. I didn't feel any guilt about killing Raiders, they where trying to hurt innocent Ponies that where just trying to make a life for themselves, and the last thing we needed was for Haven to fall to Raiders.

We fired again, another Raider died and more where gunned down by the defenders of Haven. They went in for one final attack before we gunned the last of them down, I breathed heavily as we slowly looked out of cover, the defenders where still behind the wall looking down at us.

"Who are you two and why did you come to our defense?" A magically amplified voice called to us.

"My name is Nova, I'm here with my mother and a filly we found in the Coltvega Plant, we're travelers from the southeast," I said, it was the truth it just wasn't the whole truth. "We're looking for a pony named Icy Wind that lives here in town."

There's a brief pause before the pony called back. "We'll let you in, but you have to promise not to cause trouble. We've been attacked by a lot of Raiders lately so many ponies are on edge."

"We'll be on our best behavior," Rose called out.

There wasn't a reply instead the gates to the town creaked open and we trotted forward as we headed towards it.

 **00000**

Haven had been built around an old metro station that had survived the collapse of the Seaddle underground when the megaspells went off. As we entered the main street of Haven we where approached by ponies dressed in the armor we hada seen on the ponies before.

"You didn't mention that one of you was a Steel Ranger," the leader, a Unicorn stallion with a spiked mane said.

"Former Steel Ranger," Rose corrected him. "We left the Rangers."

"I see, are you with the Applejack's Rangers out of the Pier?" The Stallion asked and we exchanged glances.

"Uh, no, we haven't joined up with them yet," I admitted and Nova shook her head. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"Not really, but we've been having a lot of problems with Raiders lately," the stallion said with a shrug. "Applejack's Rangers has offered to send support when they can."

Honestly I hadn't really considered whether or not we would meet up with Applejack's Rangers. I admittedly didn't know much about them other than what the Steel Rangers had told me, and that didn't exactly paint them in the best light, but maybe it was worth at least checking out sometime.

"Exactly why do you want to see Icy Wind anyway?" The Stallion asked. "Not a lot of Ponies come looking for her."

"Its, a private matter," I said and looked at Rose. "Is there something wrong with her?"

"She mostly keeps to herself, she came here a few months ago and mostly keeps to herself, well except for that one stallion," the guard said. "Is there anything else?"

I looked back at Destiny and then at the guard who nodded and left with the Filly. I watched them go for a moment before looking at Rose.

"Lets go," I said and she nodded as we headed for the street that the assassin had scratched onto the bed.

I took a deep breath as I knocked on the door, and looked at Rose who stepped back. After a few moments a light blue Pegasus mare with a snowflake cutie mark answered the door, her mane covered one of her eyes as she looked us over.

"Uh, can I help you?" She asked.

"Are you Icy Wind?" I asked, looking at her for a moment.

"Yeah, that's me," she said as she looked at us strangely for a moment. "Why is there a Steel Ranger outside of my house?"

"There's, something we have to tell you," Rose said and gave a description of the stallion that had come to Fort Hayford.

"Oh... that's Cobalt," she said. "Why? i\Is he okay? I know he went to Fort Hayford for a job, did the Steel Rangers capture him?"

"Ma'am, I'm sorry... Cobalt was captured and executed," I said, and I saw the pained look on her face as she broke down crying.

 **00000**

We went into the house with Icy Wind to give her a chance to sit down and rest. I couldn't help but feel guilty as Rose went into the kitchen to get her some water, while I hadn't killed Cobalt I was technically partially responsible for his death.

"I never should've let him go," Icy said as she finally started to calm down. "Any job involving the Steel Rangers is asking for trouble. But he wanted to get more caps for..."

She paused and placed a hoof on her stomach and I understood, she was pregnant and Cobalt had been the father. Thus was just another reason to hate the Steel Rangers, I was glad that we had left them.

"I'm sorry Icy," I said with a frown. "I wish I could've done more, but it was out of my hooves."

"Its okay, you did what you could do," she said with a sigh. "Thank you for telling me at least, it gave me some closure."

"I'm sorry to ask this, but did you see the Pony who hired Cobalt for the job?" I asked. "He told me that it had been a knight in the Steel Rangers."

"Yeah, he was," Icy said with a nod. "He came by the house a few weeks ago, he offered Cobalt 5000 caps for the job and gave us half up front. I didn't get a name though, I'm sorry."

"Its okay, that's something at least," I said. "Did he say why he wanted Cobalt to use non lethal ammunition?"

Icy just shrugged at that as Rose came in with the glass of water and gave it to the Pegasus mare. She gestured for me to join her in private and I nodded as we headed into the next room.

"Is everything..." I started to say when I saw what she meant, there was a set of Enclave Power armor in a case with a torn Enclave flag. "Oh, yeah that's, something alright..."

"She's an Enclave agent," Rose said coldly. "She should be dealt with."

"I don't think so," I said, which got a look from Rose. "Why would she leave it out in the open?"

"I don't know, but I don't trust her," Rose said.

"She's in mourning and she's pregnant, we can't kill her or confront her about this right now," I said. "I think we should give her the benefit of a doubt, she's probably just a Pony trying to make her way in the world like us."

"You're right of course, but I want to keep an eye on her," Rose said. "What should we do now?"

"We should find a place to stay while we're here," I suggested. "Then we need to figure out where we're going next."

Rose nodded and we headed back out to the living room.

 **00000**

We left Icy's house and made our way back out into Haven proper, I took a deep breaeth as I looked around. Honestly, I wasn't sure what to do now that we had reached Haven, we should help them out with the Raider problem at least, but that was easier said than done at this point.

"The Crossbones," Rose commented out loud.

"Huh?" I asked as I looked at her for a long moment. "What are the Crossbones?"

"They're a Raider group in Seaddle, the Raiders that where attacking Haven where from the gang," Rose said. "I recognized the symbols on their barding, it just now occurred to me who they where."

I hadn't heard the name before, but honestly I hadn't known a lot about the Raider Gangs that where found around Seaddle. As far as I was concerned they where just dangerous ponies that needed to be dealt with.

"Haven is the best defense against the Raiders, they must be here to try and break that," I said with a sigh. "Before we go anywhere else, we should at least try to help defend them. And then there's the matter of Applejack's Rangers."

"Are you suggesting we go to them?" Rose asked. "They're not like what Mandrake has told you. While they have gone against Steel Ranger tradition, it might be the only place in Seaddle that could keep us safe from Mandrake."

I nodded, she might have a point really, though I wasn't really sure if I was ready to take that step yet. We where already renegades, going full on traitors to what we had been raised as seemed, difficult.

"Lets sleep on it," I said finally. "In the meantime, lets go see what we can do to help around here first. If we can help deal with the Crossbones, then we should be able to at least gain allies in Seaddle."

"Alright then, we're in agreement," Rose said. "Lets go find the main security office and see if we can find any way to help."

I nodded and we started walking towards the old subway station.

 **00000**

 _"Hey there Seaddle, this is Refuge with your daily news,"_ the voice of Refuge said over my earbuds. _"We've got reports coming in from the settlement at Haven that the Crossbones raiders that had besieged them have been pushed back. There are unconfirmed reports that members of the Steel Rangers where involved with stopping the Raiders, but its hard to tell at this time. I have to wonder what the story there is, its possible we may have renegade members of the Steel Rangenrs, and if that's true my hat's off to you ponies."_

"Way to not paint a target on our backs, Refuge," I said sarcastically as we entered the main security office. "Mandrake probably knows where to find us now."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Rose said as the receptionist, a grey earth pony looked up at us.

"Oh, you're the two ponies who helped with the Raiders," he said and gestured towards the door leading back. "The Chief said to send you back if you showed up."

"Uh, thanks," I said as we headed through the door and into the office.

Seated behind the desk was a dark colored Griffon with markings on her face, she looked at us for a long moment before nodding.

"So you two are the renegades, huh?" She asked. "I honestly didn't expect to see Steel Rangers here in town, let alone have them help deal with the Crossbones."

"Well, we're here to help," I said with a nod.

"Good, the name's Gwen, I'm the chief here with Haven's security forces," she said with a nod. "If you're willing to help, maybe you can help us deal with the Crossbones' threat to Haven."

"The Crossbones have always been a problem, why are they just now threatening Haven?" Rose asked.

"Honestly I don't know, they've absorbed most of the other Raider Gangs around Seaddle into them," Gwen said with a shake of her head. "Can you help us?"

We looked between us, thinking for a long moment before Rose nodded.

"We'd be glad to help," I said.

Gwen smiled at that and nodded. "Good, then I'll tell you what we know and give you what assistance I can."

We nodded and listened to what she had to say.

 **00000**

Gwen told us what she knew, apparently there was a nearby group of Raiders with ties to the Crossbones called the Vipers. She wanted us to investigate it, but by the time we had all the intel it was too late to get going.

So that's how we found ourself staying in the Third Rail Inn, which was constructed out of old subway cars that had remained unused since the Megaspells went off. We where in the front half of the second car, Rose had removed her armor and was stretched out on the makeshift bed that she was using.

"Nova, I hope you're right about Icy Wind," she said. "There's been a lot of rumors from the East about the Enclave returning, the last thing we need is them here."

"I know, but, I don't know there just seems to be something about her, I think she can be trusted," I said.

It was true, and honestly I had no idea how to explain it, maybe it was just intuition, but it felt like Icy was trustworthy. Whether or not this meant she was part of the Enclave, I wasn't sure, but it was just a feeling we had.

Besides, she had just lost her lover and the father of her foal, we could afford to cut her some slack, at least for now.

"I'm more worried about Mandrake honestly," I said truthfully. "We went against dogma by leaving, he'll be hunting us to the ends of Equestria just to make sure an example is made of us."

"Yeah, I know," Rose said with a sigh as she looked over at me. "Even if I had stayed, I was your mentor and your mother, I wouldn't have lasted much longer in Fort Hayford."

I frowned a little at that, she was right of course, I hadn't thought of that when I had left the fort. I had really put Rose in a tough position, I'm just glad that she had come with me, it was certainly better than being executed or whatever else Mandrake had in mind for traitors.

"We might not have a choice but to seek out Applejack's Rangers," Rose added. "Its better than being out here on our own."

"Yeah..." I said and closed my eyes, right now I was too tired to think on it much more, and I fell into a deep sleep.

 **00000**

"How many Raider gangs are there in Seaddle?" I asked Rose, I was pretty sure she'd know better than me. It was the next day and we where heading out of Seaddle to go to the Viper's base.

"Honestly, I don't know for sure," Rose said. "It seems to change almost daily, either they get wiped out, absorbed, or new gangs get formed out of the old ones. The Vipers are pretty low level from what I understand, at least compared to the Crossbones.

Well that wasn't particularly helpful information, but at least we sort of knew what we where up against here. I checked the map on my PipBuck, it wasn't going to be a short walk but we should be able to reach the Viper's base pretty quickly.

"Though, I didn't know they where allied with the Crossbones," Rose continued. "This could be trouble."

"Why's that?" I asked.

"Normally the Raiders are at each other's throats just as much as they are at ours," Rose said. "If the Raider gangs are starting to make alliances, then they could band together and overrun Haven and other settlements."

That was pretty bad, and if we could figure out what was going on and how to stop the Raiders from whatever their plan was. Something told me that it wasn't exactly going to be good for Seaddle.

"We're going to have to stop them with whatever help we can get," I said definatively. "We left Fort Hayford to help Seaddle instead of hurting it, if something else is going on here, then we should make sure its stopped before it gets out of control."

"Agreed, lets hope the Vipers give us a place to start," Rose said, then she paused a moment. "Nova, I just want to say I'm proud of you for what you did."

I paused a little at that, she was proud of me? She had never really told me that before, at least not about this kind of thing. I couldn't help but smile with pride, but I didn't have long to dwell on that, we had a mission ahead of us of course.

"It looks like they're at the old Seaddle Armory," I commented as I looked over the map of the city. "That figures, any suggestions on how we're going to get into that?"

"Honestly, I don't know," Rose admitted. "We're just going to have to hope that we can overpower them."

It figured really, an Armory meant it was well defended, and that meant we where up against Raiders that we couldn't just overpower. This was just great, but if we wanted to get any information on the Crossbones we'd have to figure something out.

"We'll figure it out," I said as we kept moving.

I just had to keep the faith that we'd be able to.

 **00000**

I levitated up my binoculars as I examined the old Seaddle Armory from an elevated platform. It was an old military facility that had been constructed during the war in order to prepare for an attack by the Zebras that had never come, at least not the attack they where preparing for.

"That armory should be used to keep ponies safe, not to supply Raiders," I said with a groan as I counted the Raiders outside.

"I agree, but there's not much we can do about it here," Rose said as she shook her head. "All we can do is hope that we can take out the Raiders now and get what we can. So how many do you see?"

"I'd say, 9 on the outside, another 4 inside," I said as I lowered my binoculars. "No civilians, it looks like we're lucky."

"Yeah, lucky," Rose said. "This would be easier if we both had power armor, we'll have to improvise."

She was right of course, sometimes I wished that I was more than just an Initiate so I could be wearing armor. At this point though it was kind of a moot point anyway, we just had to make sure that we got out of this whole thing alive.

As I examined the area around the old armory, a few things caught my eye. There was a half collapsed guard tower that the Raiders had propped up with makeshift pillars. They where of decent quality for Raiders, but they looked like a few good shots would take them out and send the building crashing down onto the Raiders below.

"Okay mom, I've got a plan," I said and outlined the plan I had, it hinged on Rose's ability to hit a target with her machine gun grenade launcher, but I knew she could do it.

The hard part was going to be my job, which would be to take out the survivors.

"Understood," Rose said simply as she turned her gaze onto the pillars, I moved into positioned and hoped that I wouldn't get spotted before the attack began.

The next few minutes where the most tense of my life, a Raider mare actually got close to my hiding spot towards the end of it, but was caught off guard when the explosions sounded as the pillars where struck.

I closed my eyes and hoped that my plan worked, Rose was a great shot so it just came down to whether or not it did the trick. If this didn't work then we'd have to come up with a new plan, and...

Before I could finish that thought there was the sound of a crash, I looked up to see the plan had worked. I could see 4 Raiders still alive that where looking around bewildered as they tried to find the source of the attack.

I wasn't going to give them a chance to recover, I levitated my rifle out of its place and leveled it at the nearest raider and pulled the trigger. The stream of bullets hit the Raider in the head, leaving a splatter of blood and br ains.

"We're under attack!" One of the other Raiders shouted into the armory, I fired a shot into his head, but the damage was already done, the Raiders inside poured out of the building with their weapons drawn.

I fired at the Raiders, but they where moving into cover and firing back in my direction. It was times like this I really wished I had more than a rifle and a few grenades. I was going to have to look into getting a better weapon at some point.

The Raiders where then caught off guard when a gatling gun tore through them as Rose entered the fray. I gave her a nod as I fired at the Raiders, taking another one out with a headshot. The remaining Raiders went down quickly as I moved out of my hiding spot.

"I'm not picking up any more on my EFS," Rose said as she looked at me, I checked mine as well and nodded.

I sifted through the corpses of the dead raiders, there was some ammo for my rifle and other types of ammo. I picked up a few extra pieces of ammunition and weapons in order to sell, but there wasn't much in the way of a new weapon.

"Lets go check out the armory," I said and we trotted for the door.

 **00000**

The inside of the armory was in shambles, it looked like it had been ransacked by the Raiders that had made it their home. There where corpses lining the floor, somehow this made me want to throw up more than anything else.

Dear Celestia I hate Raiders.

"Are you okay, Nova?" Rose asked as she looked over at me.

"I'm fine its just, this place is worse than Coltvega," I said with a shudder as I looked around more. "Its just so senseless."

"It is..." Rose said with a sigh as we checked each of the rooms one by one. "There doesn't seem to be a whole lot in here."

It was true, the Raiders seemed to have cleared out the weapons and other gear in the arsenal already. Finally we came across a room that had something that made me stop in my tracks.

In a case against the wall was one of the nicest rifles I had ever seen. It was colored black with a gold inlay that had a scope and a system under the barrel for a customization option. It was clearly a carbine based on its design, and had the words "Celestia's Light" engraved onto it.

"Well, that's just great," I said as we examined it, it figured really, there wasn't any way to get it open with lockpicking, the glass was bulletproof, and an explosive would damage it. "Any ideas on how to get it open?"

Rose shrugged and we looked around, I had to move some stuff around until I found a pair of terminals against the wall. The first one wasn't encrytped and looked like it had been used by the Raiders so I checked it out first.

Several options came up on the screen:

COLD HEART'S REPORT.  
SHACKLE'S REPORT.  
BULLET'S REPORT.  
BLIND EYE'S LOGS.  
ORDERS FROM BLACK HEART.

I looked at the last option curiously, maybe that would give us some answers so I clicked on it.

 _To the Vipers,_

 _Your to maintain the norther sector of Seaddle in order to prepare for the coming war with the Settlements. As promised you will be given control over this sector of Seaddle following the great purge of the interlopers and the mechanical monstrocities on both sides of the so called Great Schism._

 _For now you are to continue sending tribute to the Crossbones in the Hill Sector of Seaddle._

 _Black Heart._

"Well, that was informative," Rose said as she examined it. "The Hill District huh? Well that figures, they set up shop in the last place anypony would look for them."

One of the few things I did know about the outside world was that the Hill District, the old Capitol Hill area of Seaddle, which was right in the middle of Ghoul territory because of its proximity to where the megaspell went off.

Which I supposed was the point, if nopony was going to look there, then it was the best place to hide out. The Crossbones where smart, and that worried me all of a sudden.

I looked through the other entries, it was all pretty standard things, just reports from the field. The logs where partially made up of the pony writing them being frustrated about not being able to crack the password on the other terminal and some things about the Crossbones, but not really anything new.

"Okay, lets see what we've got here," I said and turned to look at the other terminal. It took me a few tries to find the password, which turned out to be INCINERATION, which brought up two options:

SOLAR CARBINE DATA  
UNLOCK CASE.

"That's a new one," Rose said as she looked over my shoulder. "I've never heard of a Solar Carbine before."

I shrugged and opened it up, it brought up a file with images of the weapon, although much less ornately designed. Clearly whoever had gotten it had customized it.

 _The Solar Carbine is a new type of weapon developed by Ironshod Firearms that was developed after reverse engineering the Zebra Assault Carbines captured in battle. It is made to use standard issue ammunition, but it also uses the same ammunition utilized by the Zebra Carbine. Which means that bullets can ignite upon contact with a target._

 _The Solar Carbine has also been constructed to utilize customization options, including a sniper scope, grenade launcher, shotgun, and energy rifle attachment. Most issued weapons will only come with one or two attachment options as at the moment most of them are untested._

 _If there are any issues, please send your complaints to Braeburn at Ironshod Firearms._

"Well that's interesting," I said as I selected the other option and opened the case, I levitated out the Solar Carbine, Celestia's Light as it was apparently called, and examined it closely. It was a nice rifle, I might have to at least give it a try as I picked up some of the ammunition that came with it. "Well, we know where to go, lets get back to Haven at least."

Rose nodded and we headed for the door once I was sure that Celestia's Light was secured on my back.

 **00000**

The trip back to Haven was uneventful and we went to go talk to Gwen again to give her the information we had found at the Raider base.

"Well, that's certainly unexpected," she said with a sigh. "There is of course a problem, we can't get into the Hill District."

Rose explained that there was a wall made up of fallen buildings and other materials that had been constructed around the District. This was mostly in order to keep the Feral Ghouls from spreading out into the city, but it wasn't exactly infalible as we had seen in Coltvega.

"Well, the Crossbones have to be getting in and out of it somehow," I said and Rose nodded with a shrug. "The question now is how."

"And where we can find out how to get into it," Rose added.

"Honestly, I don't know," Gwen admitted.

Great, just great.

 **LEVEL UP!**  
 **Perk Received: Prospector.**  
 **Details: You've gained some experience in exploring the ruins of the old world and discovering the secrets that they still hold. You gain an extra bonus to your perception and luck.**

 **00000**

 _ **Finally, after working on it on and off for months, I'm finally done with chapter 2! I hope you all enjoyed it.**_

 _ **Next chapter, Nova and Rose start to look around for answers to the question of how to get into the Hill District and go after the Crossbones. As they do so however, more indications start to rise about a possible conspiracy within the ruins of Seaddle. What will this mean for our heroes? Find out next time in, "Steel Heart."**_


End file.
